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We'll always have Paris . . . but only if we outbid the other networks
Matea Gold, Los Angeles Times. . . in the latest example of the odd alchemy worked by the socialite's celebrity, Hilton's attempt to land a lucrative media deal has unintentionally brought discomfiting attention to a practice the networks would rather keep quiet: their willingness to compensate subjects for exclusives.  On Friday, executives at ABC, NBC and CBS all said they were no longer interested in interviewing the heiress after a series of conflicting behind-the-scenes negotiations with her family were made public, torpedoing Hilton's efforts to secure a major network interview for her first post-jail sit-down. The abrupt turn-around came coming after intense jostling between the news divisions for an exclusive.Hilton's family triggered the scrutiny this week by telling ABC that NBC was willing to pay close to $1 million for an exclusive upon her release, a story NBC promptly disavowed. . . . Hilton would not have been the first to profit from such an arrangement. Television news divisions have long found ways to woo prospective interview subjects without paying them directly, whether through posh hotel suites and Broadway tickets or "licensing" fees for home videos. "It's the way that the networks have been doing business for years," said Joe Angotti, a former senior vice president at NBC News. "It's always bothered me, and it bothers me more now that I'm out of the business. They feel that it does not cross the line as long as they don't write a check. It's a very fuzzy line, obviously." One longtime network producer familiar with the booking wars said that that most major broadcast interviews involve some form of indirect compensation such as first or business class plane tickets, limousines, and five-star meals. "It's all built around the idea of plausible deniability so that extremely reputable journalists can say with a straight face say they didn't pay for the interview," said the producer, who did not want to be quoted by name discussing internal practices. "It's just seen as the cost of doing business. And as the competition has increased: There's been a sense of, 'What more can we do to up the ante?' " Network officials defended their tactics, insisting that paying to use personal footage or putting interview subjects up in hotels does not amount to checkbook journalism. . . . Earlier this week, ABC executives said they had lost their bid for an exclusive with Hilton to Meredith Vieira, co-anchor of NBC's "Today" show. Hilton's camp indicated that NBC had offered the family a better deal: a licensing fee between $750,000 and $1 million for the use of personal videos and photos, besting ABC's offer of $100,000. But when news of the negotiations leaked out, NBC said it had no commitment from Hilton and would not pay for an interview. However, the network continued to negotiate behind the scenes for a sit-down that did not include any form of payment, according to an NBC source. At the same time, the jailed socialite and her family apparently fearful of losing a major network interview altogether frantically sought to secure a deal with ABC's Barbara Walters. Posted by: Mike 2007-06-26 |
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